Rope-measuring machine.



PATENTED NOV. 21, 1905.

H. 1?. JAMES. ROPE MEASURING-MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 13. 1905.

229i? Jaw MFQZZ Withesses Attorneys nNrr-En STATES- PATET QFFIGE.

FIIOQPE-MEASURING' MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1905.

Application filed July 13, 1905. fierial No. 269,542.

To alt whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HALLIE P. JAMEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Humboldt, in the county of Gibson and State of Tennessee,have invented a new and useful RopeJ/Ieasuring Machine, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to devices for meas uring cordage of variouskinds and similar products, and has for its object to improve theconstruction and increase the efficiency of devices of this character.

With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combina tion and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fullydescribed, shown in the accomp anying drawings, and particularly pointedout in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a frontelevation, of the improved device.

In the improved device is comprised a supporting-frame of any approvedstructure or of any required size and provided with a plurality ofsockets 11 for receiving shafts for supporting the spools or reelscontaining the product to be measured.

Any required number of the spool-shafts may be employed to hold spoolsof different grades or sizes of cordage or similar products but for thepurpose of illustration one of the shafts only is shown at 12, mountedfor rotation in one pair of the sockets and containing one of the spoolsor reels 13, supplied with cordage, as at 14.

The shaft 12 is threaded, as represented in Fig. 2, and supplied withnuts 15 16, bearing upon the ends of the spool to hold the spool inposition, the shaft being thus capa ble of supporting spools ofdifierent lengths, as will be obvious.

Mounted for rotation in the frame 10 is a shaft 17, having at one end anoperatingcrank 18 and, with a winding-reel at the other end,'consistingof a hub 19, radiating arms 20, the latter having concaved terminalblocks 21 to receive the cordage as it is unwound from the spool.

One of the arms 20 is hollow and shorter than the others, and the block21 of the shorter arm is provided with a stud 22, extending into thehollow arm and held adjustably therein by a set-screw 23. By this meansafter the required amount of cord has been wound upon the reel theset-screw is loosened and the stud 22 permitted to move into the hollowarm a sufficient distance to release the cordage, as hereinafter morefully explained.

Mounted for rotation upon the frame 10 is a counter-shaft 24, having atone end a guidepulley 25, operating in the path of the cord.- age as itpasses from the spool to the reel.

Attached to the frame 10 concentric to the shaft 24 is a dial 26, havinguniformly-spaced radial lines 27, and connected to the shaft 24 is anarm 28, serving as a pointer passing over the dial as the shaft isrotated.

The pulley 25 is one foot in circumference, and the graduations 27 aretwelve in number, representing inches, so that as the cordage 14 passesfrom the spool to the reel and engages the pulley in its passage thepointer will denote number of inches unwound, as hereinafter explained.

Attached rigidly to the frame 10 is a bar 29, having graduations 30thereon and also provided with a longitudinal channel for movablysupporting a bar 32, having notches 33 corresponding to the graduationson the stationary bar 29.

The movable bar 32 is also provided with a pointer 34 for movement overthe graduations 30 of the stationary bar 29, and the stationary bar isprovided with a stop, as at 35, to engage the pointer 34 and limit themovement of the movable bar in one direction.

The arm 28 is extended for engagement consecutively with the notches 33,so that as the shaft 24 is rotated the arm 28 picks up the movable bar32 and moves it the distance of one of its notches at each fullrevolution of the shaft.

When an order of cordage is to be measured, the bar 32 is drawn outwardto the limit of its movement, or until the pointer 34 bears against thestop 35. The dial 26 is then rotated until the arm 28 is opposite thegraduation 12 on the dial. The end of the cordage to be measured is thencarried beneath the guide-pulley 25, attached to the nearest block 21,care being taken that the shaft 24 be rotated to a sufficient extent tocause the arm 28 to denote on the dial the length of cord between pulleyand the block 21 to which it is attached. The crank-arm 18 is thenrotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 to wind the requiredamount of cordage upon the reel, which will be denoted by the pointers34 and 28.

For instance, suppose a customer orders seven and one-half feet of rope.The operator sets the device as above described and rotates thecrank-arm 18 until the arm 28 has made seven full revolutions and ickedup one of the teeth 33 and moved t e bar 32 the distance of one of thenotches at each even and a half feet of rope will then be upon the reel.The set-screw 23 is then loosened and the stud 23 forced into the hollowarm 21, which will so loosen the windings of cordage as to permit theirready removal from the reel.

It will thus be obvious that any required length of the cordage may bemeasured, and if a length greater than the bar 30 is required the bar 32may be moved outward again to its first position and the operationrepeated as often as required, care being taken to note the number oftimes the bar 32 is adjusted.

It will be obvious that a device is produced which is simple inconstruction, efficient in action, inexpensive to manufacture, and willbe found very convenient and useful in re tail stores in handlingvarious sizes of cordage and similar products.

Having thus described the invention,what is claimed is 1. In a device ofthe class described, a stationary bar having an internal guideway andwith external graduations, a bar slidable in said guideway and providedwith lugs .spaced to correspond to said graduations, a

pointer carried by said slidable bar for movement over said graduations,a shaft mounted for rotation and carrying a measuring-Wheel and withradial arm for engagement with said lugs one at a .time as the shaft isrotated, a dial concentric to said shaft and over which said arm rotatesand provided with graduations corresponding to the graduations on saidstationary bar and fractions of the same, and means for causing the ropeto be measured to pass in contact with said measuringwheel.

2. In a device of the class described, a stationary bar having aninternal guideway and with external graduations, a bar slidable in saidguideway and provided with lugs spaced to correspond to saidgraduations, a pointer carried by said slidable bar for movement oversaid graduations, a shaft mounted for rotation and carrying ameasuring-wheel and with a radial arm for engagement with said lugs oneat a time as the shaft is rotated, a dial concentric to said shaft andover which said arm rotates andprovided with graduations-correspondingto the graduations on said station ary bar and fractions of the same,means for supporting the rope to be measured at one side of said wheel,and a winding-reel mounted for rotation and disposed at the other sideof said wheel.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HALLIE P. J AMES.

